By
Steven Smith
Neca has been producing a lot of Predator figures over the past several years. Some of the characters have been pulled directly from the movies, such as Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and the City Hunter Predator (from Predator 2) and the tribal Predators (from Predators). There have also been tie-in figures from AvP line (Aliens vs Predator). And, if that wasn’t enough, NECA has also given us the game and comic adaptations, along with Predator spaceships and other vehicles that fit in the universe – one can only assume that when Shane Black’s The Predator hits the big screen in 2018 that Neca will be producing a line for that film as well.
So to say they have a full plate of Predator figures in their lineup may be an understatement.
And today we’ll be discussing their latest release: the Ultimate Jungle Hunter Predator.
The Jungle Hunter Predator is directly taken from John McTiernan’s 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
With almost all of Neca’s toys, the immense attention paid to the smallest details are impressive and not to be overlooked.
Let’s first talk about the box: it is a window box, meaning it opens like a book, allowing you to see the figure behind a plastic window – which is how Neca has been doing all of their Ultimate Edition figures lately. Having the figures in these types of boxes is a better idea the the old bubble on a card or even a complete plastic casing. These new boxes will hold up much longer and not break down and crack, like the plastic cases do, nor will the glue, like on the old bubble on a card, begin to breakdown and pull away after years of sitting on a shelf or hanging on the wall.
The design on the front flap perfectly captures the spirit of the 1987 film as well as the alien with only showing half of the Predator’s mask, and the three red targeting beams on its helmet highlighting everything in blood red, giving you just a glimpse of the figure waiting inside, while staying mysterious enough to entice you to open it and have a peek inside.
The back of the box has a short description of what the Predator is, and what happens in the movie. There are several different pictures of the figure in posed action, sometime taken right from a shot in the movie. They all look beautiful.
On the inside flap is a nice wide shot of the Predator from the scene in the movie where he and Dutch are about to square off man-to-alien, hunter against hunter, hunter becoming the hunted.
Now onto the figure itself. The Predator’s design is captured to the fullest right down to the small animal skulls it wears as decretive jewelry. The netting around its torso. The Armor, the double blades on its right wrist and the bomb counter (that opens to show the strange red symbols as it counts down) on its left wrist. The helmet is a near a perfect representation from the one in the film.
The figure comes with two heads – one with the mask, one without – and a second helmet. He also has interchangeable hands, and the plasma cannon that can be mounted on to his shoulder with a blue blast coming from it, simulating him shooting at Dutch – if you want.
Other neat items that comes with the figure are the two human skulls. One is Billy’s, complete with the spine still attached. The other skull…well, we’ll leave that up for you to decide who it is. Blane? Poncho? Hawkins?
If you love the movie and collecting Predator figures, this is a must for you to add to your collection. It goes without saying that this would be a perfect centerpiece beside your DVD, Blu-Ray, or even an old VHS or Laserdisc copy of the film. And it will fit in nicely with your other Predator figures as well.
One can only hope that Neca continues to produce Predator figures – let’s hope they can get the rights to creating the rest of Dutch’s team in full detail and we can have another battle in the jungle.
Everyone ‘get to tha chappah’ and grab yours today here at The Crimson Screen Collectibles in the link below.
http://www.mcssl.com/store/18046487/predator—7-scale-action-figure—ultimate-jungle-hunter
